THE ANDREW CUOMO "ANIMAL" DEFENSE
Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares has decided not to bring perjury charges against Darren Dopp, the former aide to Governor Spitzer. The investigation started after Dopp signed an affidavit to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo about the office’s handling of state police records on the travel habits of Spitzer’s political rival, Joseph Bruno, and the forwarding of such information to The Albany Times Union. Problem was, the affidavit seemed to contradict testimony he’d given to the Commission on Public Integrity, which was conducting its own “Troopergate” investigation. Soares had already conducted an investigation that concluded he did “not believe there was a plot to smear Senator Bruno,” but agreed to explore perjury charges against Dopp, in part because of pressure from Republicans. The New York Times and New York Sun cover different aspects of the case. The Times examines the possibly non-legally binding nature of the affidavit, while the Sun delves into rumors that Dopp was pressured to sign the affidavit. The questionable part of the document from Cuomo's office reads, “I now recognize that any requests for State Police records relating to those travels should have been handled through other channels, and I regret any appearance of impropriety that was created by the manner in which this information was sought and obtained.” That testimony may contradict Dopp's assertions to the integrity commission members that he did nothing wrong. In addition, Dopp told Albany prosecutors that other Spitzer aides who referred to Cuomo as an “animal” who could not be trusted. Soares’s report contains no mention of this.

NO SINGING FROM THESE TENANTS
Elsewhere, The New York Law Journal reports that New York City Civil Court Judge Jeffrey Oing has ruled that Carnegie Hall can evict 18 commercial tenants from the twin towers above the famed concert hall. The Carnegie Hall Corporation wants to reclaim all 50 units in the two towers to create more space for its music education programs. The tenants had argued that the city's 99-year lease with the Carnegie Hall Corporation protected them from being evicted since steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie had wanted to create affordable living and working accommodations for artists when he built the two towers a few years after concert hall was completed in 1891. “Neither CHC's enabling legislation nor the [most recent amended version of the 99-year lease with the city] mandate that CHC make the space available in the studio towers to working artists,” Oing wrote. “As important as Carnegie Hall is to the culture of New York City, CHC was not created in the same vein as other public benefit corporations whereby those entities actually provided essential services of a governmental nature to New York state or its citizens.”

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau launched an immigrant affairs unit yesterday. The New York Daily News reports that this new set of prosecutors will focus on fraud and crimes that affect New York's newest arrivals. ADA Daysi Mejia, who will lead the unit, reminded immigrants that the new office won't worry about deportation. "We're not going to contact the INS ... That's not what we do, and that's not what we are ever going to do," she said bluntly. Mejia herself is an immigrant, arriving in the United States from the Dominican Republic when she was five years old.

TAX FREE IT'S GONNA BE
And also from the Times, Eastern District Judge Carol Bagley Amon last Friday dismissed a supermarket mogul’s lawsuit seeking to stop two Indian tribes from selling untaxed cigarettes to non-Indians. He had also sought $20 million in compensation — the amount he claims he has lost to the business — from retailers who sold the untaxed cigarettes to the Shinnecock and Unkechaug Indian nations. “Everyone has to pay their taxes, and Indians must charge tax on cigarettes when they sell to non-Indians,” said. John A. Catsimatidis, whose holdings include the Gristedes supermarket chain, and who vowed to appeal. Amon disagreed that the non-tax sales “created, fostered and nourished a thriving black market in illegally discounted cigarette sales” and also dismissed charges of corrupt business dealings and unfair competition. The state taxes every pack of cigarette $1.50, but historically tribes have been exempted as “sovereign nations.”

THE OLE' MEATBALL DEFENSE 
And finally, The Daily News has the most comprehensive take on a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by 22-year NYPD detective Anthony Chiofalo, challenging his firing after he tested positive for marijuana. Chiofalo says his wife spiked his meatballs in an effort to make him quit the force before he was killed on the job. He had no idea his food was spiked," said Chiofalo’s attorney, Richard Dienst. “There was absolutely no intention to use marijuana. When he heard his wife put this in his meatballs, he was stunned. The guy sat in the room shaking his head for half an hour.” Chiofalo was fired despite an administrative judge’s ruling that bought the meatball defense. “He's a hero cop with a totally unblemished record,” Dienst said. “This whole thing has left a bitter taste in his mouth.”